Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz also said it would be unacceptable for Turkey to reintroduce the death penalty, which it abolished in 2004. Abolishing capital punishment was a prerequisite for talks with Turkey on membership of the European Union, to which it still aspires.

But... this is Turkey: the law is whatever Erdogan says it is.

So, it appears he is not the least bit concerned with the EU, or, as ZH would put it, a 'democratic' form of government. Anyone have any plausible reasons for his consolidation of power?

I don't know what to think. This is Zero Hedge, but I don't see it as out of the realm of possibility. Whether or not it was staged as an excuse for a purge, or is it was taken advantage of for the purposes of a purge, the result might be the same.